Råbjerg Mile – GC21787 – GEOCACHE OF THE WEEK – October 25, 2012

Ever wonder what would it be like if the ground literally started to move under your feet? Geocachers who visited the Råbjerg Mile (GC21787) EarthCache know exactly what it’s like.

Located at the northern tip of Denmark, between the Danish cities of Skagen and Frederikshavn, the Råbjerg Mile is the largest migrating sand dune in Northern Europe. It contains millions of cubic meters of sand and moves up to 18 meters (59 feet) every year. Geocachers can enjoy this migrating wonder and observe many types of birds that make it their travelling home by visiting the difficulty 1.5, terrain 2 EarthCache.

Denmark once had many shifting dunes, even larger than the Råbjerg Mile. These dunes caused many problems for the people living in their paths. So, in the mid-19th century, the state bought the land under the dunes so that it could plant dune grasses and conifers that would help stabilize it. They then left the Råbjerg Mile so that future generations would remember both the challenges and the beauty of these shifting sand dunes.

Marking sand angels

Michael, a.k.a. WAUZZZ4B has given fellow Premium Member geocachers yet another reason to see and experience nature at its best since creating the EarthCache in November of 2009.

Geocachers everywhere can learn a lot about this dune just by reading the detailed cache page. But nearly 450 Premium Members got to experience this EarthCache for what it’s worth and share their experiences by posting more than 530 breathtaking images.

With Geocaching.com’s request, Michael has agreed to temporarily grant access to basic members for an opportunity to experience and log this EarthCache.

One geocacher who logged this Premium Cache wrote, “We heard about the dune from some friends who visited many years ago. We decided that we wanted to check out this place during our visit to Denmark. Sure enough, there’s an EarthCache, which gave us even more reason to come out and log our visit. We didn’t realize how beautiful this place is. Absolutely stunning scenery and by far the biggest sand box we’ve ever been in!”